Recent studies have shown that shorter periods of ejaculatory abstinence may enhance certain sperm parameters, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these improvements are still unclear. This study explored whether reduced abstinence periods could improve semen quality, particularly for use in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). We analyzed semen samples from men with normal sperm counts ( n = 101) and those with low sperm motility or concentration ( n = 53) after 3-7 days of abstinence and then after 1-3 h of abstinence, obtained from the Reproductive & Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya (Changsha, China). Physiological and biochemical sperm parameters were evaluated, and the dynamics of transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived fragments (tRFs) were analyzed using deep RNA sequencing in five consecutive samples from men with normal sperm counts. Our results revealed significant improvement in sperm motility and a decrease in the DNA fragmentation index after the 1- to 3-h abstinence period. Additionally, we identified 245 differentially expressed tRFs, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was the most enriched. Further investigations showed significant changes in tRF-Lys-TTT and its target gene mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 2 ( MAP2K2 ), which indicates a role of tRFs in improving sperm function. These findings provide new insights into how shorter abstinence periods influence sperm quality and suggest that tRFs may serve as biomarkers for male fertility. This research highlights the potential for optimizing ART protocols and improving reproductive outcomes through molecular approaches that target sperm function.
Male ; Humans ; Spermatozoa/metabolism* ; RNA, Transfer/genetics* ; Sperm Motility/genetics* ; Adult ; Semen Analysis ; Sexual Abstinence/physiology* ; Sperm Count ; DNA Fragmentation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the serological prevalence of high-titer IgG antibodies against 2019-nCoV among voluntary blood donors in Zunyi. METHODS: The blood plasma specimens were diluted at 1∶160 or 1∶320, then tested for the presence of 2019-nCoV IgG antibodies by using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The differences of antibody reactive rate among different genders, ages, and blood types were analyzed. RESULTS: 1 523 reactive specimens were identified in 5 378 specimens which were diluted at a ratio of 1∶160. Similarly, 329 reactive specimens were identified in 2 988 diluted at 1∶320. The overall reactive rate for antibodies was 22.1%. It was observed that females, individuals over the age of 40, and those with blood type AB exhibited higher high-titer antibody reactive rate. CONCLUSION After entering a new stage of 2019-nCoV infection prevention and control, there is a relatively high detection rate of high-titer 2019-nCoV IgG antibodies among voluntary blood donors in Zunyi. The reactive rate of antibodies varies among different genders, ages, and blood types.
Humans ; Blood Donors ; Immunoglobulin G/blood* ; Antibodies, Viral/blood* ; SARS-CoV-2/immunology* ; COVID-19 ; Female ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Adult ; China ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects. METHODS: We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies. RESULTS: We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011-2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007-2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity. CONCLUSION GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Humans ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Linear Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Environmental Pollutants ; Body Mass Index

Aim To investigate the mechanism by which formononetin (FN) inhibits mitochondrial dynamic-related protein 1 (DRP1) -NLRP3 axis via intervening the generation of ROS to reduce allergic airway inflammation. Methods In order to establish allergic asthma mouse model, 50 BALB/c mice aged 8 weeks were divided into the control group, model group, FN treatment group and dexamethasone group after ovalbumin (OVA) induction. Airway inflammation and collagen deposition were detected by HampE and Masson staining. Th2 cytokines and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), and IgE levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured by ELISA, ROS in BEAS-2B cells was assessed by DCFH-DA staining, DRP1 expression in lung tissue and BEAS-2B cells was detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, and the DRP1-NLRP3 pathway was analyzed by immunoblotting. Results FN treatment could effectively ameliorate the symptoms of asthmatic mouse model, including reducing eosinophil accumulation, airway collagen deposition, decreasing Th2 cytokine and IgE levels, reducing ROS and MDA production, increasing SOD and CAT activities, and regulating DRP1-NLRP3 pathway-related protein expression, thereby relieving inflammation. Conclusion FN ameliorates airway inflammation in asthma by regulating DRP1-NLRP3 pathway.

AIM: To explore the protective effect of astragalus glycyrrhiza decoction (AGD) on arsenic trioxide (ATO)-induced QT interval prolongation and its mechanism based on metabonomics. METHODS: The model of ATO-induced QT interval prolongation in rats was established, and ECG, blood routine, and metabonomics were detected, and the key targets were collected combined with network pharmacology. The possible candidate genes and pathways for the protective effect of AGD were screened by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis and then verified by experiments in vitro. RESULTS: AGD could significantly alleviate the ATO-induced QT interval of SD rats. GO enrichment analysis was mainly related to inflammatory response, reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress, inner cell vesicles, folds, inner cell vesicles, SMAD binding, R-SMAD binding, and signal receptor activator activity. KEGG analysis showed that it was mainly concentrated in the PI3K-Akt signal pathway, lipid and arteriosclerosis, FOXO signal pathway, TNF signal pathway, HIF-1, and other signal pathways. Through the H9c2 cell model in vitro, it was verified that AGD could reverse the expression of SIRT1 and FOXO1 proteins. CONCLUSION: AGD may improve the ATO-induced QT interval prolongation and reduce the cardiotoxicity of ATO by regulating the SIRT1 / FOXO1 signal pathway.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Qigui Tongluo Oral Liquid(a hospital preparation developed by Guangdong Second Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and being composed of Astragali Radix,Angelicae Sinensis Radix,Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma,Paeoniae Radix Rubra,Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix,Spatholobi Caulis,Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma,Pheretima,etc.)combined with moxibustion for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS)of qi deficiency and blood stasis type on the basis of qi-collateral theory.Methods A retrospective study was conducted in 60 CFS patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis type.The patients were divided into an observation group and a control group,with 30 patients in each group according to the therapy.The control group was treated with mild moxibustion on Shenque(CV8)point with moxa sticks,and the observation group was treated with Qigui Tongluo Oral Liquid on the basis of treatment for the control group.The course of treatment lasted for 4 weeks.The changes of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores,Fatigue Scale-14(FS-14)scores,serum immunoglobulin IgA,IgM,IgG levels,and cortisol(COR)level in the two groups were observed before and after the treatment.After treatment,the clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)After 4 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was 96.67%(29/30),and that of the control group was 80.00%(24/30).The intergroup comparison showed that the clinical efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the TCM syndrome scores and FS-14 scores of patients in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.01),and the effect on decreasing TCM syndrome scores and FS-14 scores in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(3)After treatment,the serum IgA and IgG levels of the two groups as well as the serum IgM and COR levels of the observation group were significantly increased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.01),and the effect of the observation group on increasing serum IgA,IgM,IgG,and COR levels was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(4)During the treatment,there were no significant adverse reactions occurring in the two groups.Conclusion Healthy-qi deficiency and collateral obstruction contribute to the core pathogenesis of CFS.Based on the TCM qi-collateral theory and following the therapeutic principle of replenishing deficiency and unblocking collaterals,Qigui Tongluo Oral Liquid combined with moxibustion for the treatment of CFS patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis type can achieve certain efficacy.The combined therapy could significantly alleviate the clinical symptoms,improve the immunity level,and regulate the neuro-endocrine-immune(NEI)network of the patients.

Objective:To establish an ultrasound prediction model of postoperative recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)after complete endoscopic radical surgery.Meth-ods:264 patients with PTC who underwent complete endoscopic radical surgery for the first time in our hospital from February 2017 to March 2020 were retrospectively collected.They were divided in-to recurrence group and non recurrence group according to whether there was recurrence after surgery.The clinical data,nodule diameter,nodule number,internal echo,microcalcification and other ultrasonic data of the two groups were compared.Single factor,Lasso and Logistic regression mod-els were used to analyze the influencing factors of postoperative recurrence of PTC patients,and an nomogram model was established based on the selected indicators.Results:Compared with the non recurrence group,the patients in the recurrence group had larger nodule diameter,irregular nod-ule edge,aspect ratio＞1,microcalcification and capsule invasion(P＜0.05).Nodular diameter＞10 mm,irregular edge,aspect ratio＞1,microcalcification and capsule invasion were independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence of PTC patients(P＜0.05).The C-index of the constructed nomogram model was 0.756(95％Cl:0.684～0.830),and the AUC of the ROC curve was 0.895(95％Cl:0.866～0.915);The calibration curve results show that the average deviation is 0.027,and the predic-tion probability fits the actual probability well;The clinical decision curve is far away from the extreme curve and has good clinical applicability.Conclusion:The nomogram model based on nodule size,irregular margin,microcalcification,aspect ratio＞1,and capsule invasion has good accuracy in pre-dicting the recurrence of PTC patients after complete endoscopic radical surgery,and has certain clinical significance.

Objective To compare the blood glucose control effect and safety between insulin degludec and insulin aspart and insulin aspart 30 in non-obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods Non-obese patients with T2DM were divided into treatment group and control group according to different treatment methods.The control group was treated with insulin aspart 30,and the treatment group was treated with insulin degludec and insulin aspart.Pancreatic islet related indicators[fasting C-peptide(FCP)and 2-hour postprandial C-peptide(2 h CP)],blood glucose control effect[fasting blood glucose(FBG),2-hour postprandial blood glucose(2 h PG)and glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c)],serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25(OH)D]and the risk of hypoglycemia were compared between the two groups.Results There were 41 cases in treatment group and 39 cases in control group.After treatment,FCP levels in treatment group and control group were(0.84±0.09)and(1.07±0.14)nmol·L-1;2 h CP levels were(1.03±0.15)and(1.69±0.17)nmol·L-1;FBG levels were(5.46±0.57)and(6.18±0.67)mmol·L-1;2 h PG levels were(8.17±0.85)and(9.03±0.94)mmol·L-1;HbA1 c were(5.35±0.57)％and(6.47±0.68)％;25(OH)D levels were(26.33±2.75)and(20.54±2.17)nmol·L-1,all with significant difference(all P＜0.05).The incidence rates of non-severe hypoglycemia in treatment group and control group were 14.63％and 35.90％,with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).The incidence rates of severe hypoglycemia in treatment group and control group were 9.76％and 12.82％;the incidence rates of nocturnal hypoglycemia were 19.51％and 17.95％,without statistically significant difference(all P＞0.05).Conclusion The overall therapeutic effect of insulin degludec and insulin aspart on non-obese patients with T2DM is better than that of insulin aspart 30.The former can effectively regulate blood glucose and pancreatic islet cell function,lower the risk of non-severe hypoglycemia.